Surface water entitlements

Entitlements are generally required for the major surface water uses—irrigation,
urban and commercial and industrial uses in all states and territories.

Surface water uses that generally do not currently require entitlements in
most of Australia are: use for on farm stock and domestic purposes, forestry
(reduction in yield), floodplain harvesting, drought supply, greywater use,
effluent recycling, and aquifer storage and recovery. These are detailed in
the table below. Additionally, water for the mining, oil and gas extraction
industries is a major component of surface water diversions in some surface
water management areas in Australia ; however, these diversions do not require
an entitlement in many jurisdictions.

Farm dams (minor catchment, on-stream and extracted storages) have been the
focus of considerable research and policy reform in recent years. While the
use from farm dams and their impact on surface water resources has historically
been ignored, it is becoming an increasingly important issue across Australia
, particularly for unregulated catchments.

In Victoria , for example, farm dams for irrigation and commercial purposes
require entitlements, but stock and domestic farm dams do not. Western Australia
has started to investigate the impact of farm dams in the south-west of the
state. South Australia has investigated farm dams in all of its prescribed
areas and has undertaken detailed investigations of farm dam impacts in the
Eastern and Western Mt Lofty Ranges as part of the notice of intent to prescribe
these areas. Entitlements are not required for stock and domestic use in most
of South Australia .

Surface water usage that is not licensed (does NOT require an entitlement)

Number of surface water management areas where
usage is not licensed

State or territory

ACT

NSW

NT

QLD

SA

TAS

VIC

WA

National

Irrigation

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

13

13

Urban

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

13

15

Commercial, industrial

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

13

13

Minor catchment storages

0

19

35

0

0

0

0

13

67

Minor on-stream storages

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

13

13

Minor extracted water storages

0

19

32

0

0

0

0

13

64

Stock and domestic

1

0

39

61

4

46

0

44

195

Mining, oil and gas

0

0

0

0

0

5

0

13

18

Forestry

0

0

0

0

3

46

29

13

91

Floodplain harvesting

0

26

14

0

0

0

0

44

84

Drought supply

0

0

0

0

4

0

0

13

17

Greywater use

1

37

0

0

4

0

29

44

115

Effluent recycling

1

37

0

0

4

0

29

44

115

Aquifer storage and recovery

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

44

44

Other

0

42

0

0

4

0

0

2

48

Note:

Numbers reported indicate surface water management areas where the usage type does
not require a license. In all other surface water management areas usage either
requires a license or there are no surface water resources.

Non-riparian stock and domestic water use does require a licence in
Tasmania